Bank Of America^® Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards Mastercard^® Credit Card Review [2023]: Choose How You Earn

The Bank of America^® Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards Mastercard^® credit card makes it easy for you to choose how to earn cash back each month, including on select categories that align with common business expenses, such as gas stations, office supply stores, and travel.

But you’re limited to how much elevated cash back you can earn each calendar year, and the available cashback categories don’t cover all types of business purchases.

Let’s explore our Bank of America Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards credit card review to see whether this card makes sense for your business.

Key takeaways

• You can boost your earning potential by up to 75% with the Preferred Rewards program.
• The spending cap on this card’s highest rewards rates might be too low for some businesses.
• Choice categories include gas stations, travel, and computer services.
• There’s an introductory APR offer for purchases but not balance transfers.
• Other Business Advantage Bank of America cards might make more sense if you prefer travel rewards or a simpler rewards structure.

Who should get the Bank of America^® Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards Mastercard^® credit card?

The Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards makes sense if your business expenses vary from month to month. Being able to choose different categories for your card’s highest rewards rate can help maximize your earning potential.

But this card likely wouldn’t make sense if you have a high-spending business. This is because there’s a spending cap each calendar year on the highest rewards rates for the Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards card. Once you hit the cap, your rewards rate decreases.

So if you’re spending hundreds of thousands of dollars each year, a rewards card with a higher spending cap — or no spending cap at all — would make more sense.

Credit card basics

Card type	Cashback/Business/Low-interest
Credit card issuer	Bank of America
Credit card network	Mastercard
Annual fee	$0
Sign-up bonus	Earn a $300 online statement credit after you make at least $3,000 in net purchases in the first 90 days of your account opening
Reward rate	3% cash back on your category of choice: gas stations (default), office supply stores, travel, TV/telecom & wireless, computer services or business consulting services and 2% cash back on dining (for the first $50,000 in combined choice category/dining purchases each calendar year, then 1%); and unlimited 1% cash back on everything else
Intro APR	0% intro APR for 9 billing cycles on purchases (then 18.24% - 28.24% Variable)
Recommended credit score	Excellent
Foreign transaction fee	3%

Why we like this card: benefits and perks

• Generous welcome bonus: Earn a $300 online statement credit after you make at least $3,000 in net purchases in the first 90 days of your account opening.
• $0 annual fee: Avoid an annual cost with a $0 annual fee.
• Earning potential: Earn 3% cash back on your category of choice: gas stations (default), office supply stores, travel, TV/telecom & wireless, computer services or business consulting services and 2% cash back on dining (for the first $50,000 in combined choice category/dining purchases each calendar year, then 1%); and unlimited 1% cash back on everything else.
• Preferred Rewards membership: Boost your earning potential by 25% to 75% as a Bank of America Preferred Rewards member.
• Intro APR offer: Receive 0% intro APR for 9 billing cycles on purchases (then 18.24% - 28.24% Variable).
• Purchase protections: Receive purchase benefits, including purchase protection and extended warranty coverage on certain purchases.
• Travel coverage: Receive travel benefits, including travel accident insurance, auto rental insurance, lost luggage assistance, and emergency ticket replacement services.

What we don’t like about this card

• Spending limits: Your highest rewards rates on this card have spending caps, which isn’t the case with some of the best business credit cards.
• Foreign transaction fees: This isn’t the best credit card for cardholders to make purchases abroad, as you’ll be charged 3% in foreign transaction fees.
• Credit requirements: The Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards typically requires an excellent credit score. Depending on your credit score and other eligibility factors, you might find it easier to qualify for one of the best cashback business credit cards.

Earning and redeeming Bank of America rewards

Best ways to earn

Categories	Rewards rate
Category of your choice: gas stations (default), office supply stores, travel, TV/telecom & wireless, computer services or business consulting services (on the first $50,000 in combined choice category/dining purchases each calendar year, then 1%)	3%
Dining purchases (on the first $50,000 in combined choice category/dining purchases each calendar year, then 1%)	2%
All other purchases	1%

We like that the Bank of America Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards lets you choose how you earn rewards each month on its highest cashback rate. For example, you can earn 3% cash back on the category of your choice: gas stations (default), office supply stores, travel, TV/telecom & wireless, computer services or business consulting services (on the first $50,000 in combined choice category/dining purchases each calendar year, then 1%).

Available categories include:

• Gas stations
• Travel
• TV, telecom, and wireless
• Computer services
• Business consulting services

But you have to remember to change your choice category each month in the Bank of America mobile app or your online account, which is a downside. If you don’t change your choice, it remains the same. The default choice category is gas stations.

Boost your earnings through Preferred Rewards membership

You can boost your earning potential by 25% to 75% as a Preferred Rewards member. It’s free to join the Preferred Rewards for Business program, but you must have an eligible Bank of America business checking account and a three-month combined average daily balance of at least $20,000 in qualifying Bank of America business deposit accounts and/or Merrill business investment accounts.

For the 75% rewards bonus (Platinum Honors tier), you would need to have a three-month combined average daily balance of at least $100,000. That’s a hefty sum of money to have on hand, but the increased earning potential is significant.

For example, earning 3% on $50,000 in a year would net you $1,500 cash back. Boost your rate by 75%, and you would be earning 5.25% on that same amount. And $50,000 in business spending at 5.25% would net you $2,625, or $1,125 more cash back.

Maximizing your redemptions

The Bank of America Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards offers these redemption options:

• Deposits into your Bank of America checking or savings account
• Statement credits
• Mailed checks

You won’t receive more value by using one of these redemption options over another, so it comes down to your personal preference with how you redeem your rewards. But keep in mind that receiving a bank deposit or statement credit on your card is typically safer than waiting for a check in the mail that could be lost or stolen.

FAQ

Other cards to consider

If the Bank of America Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards isn’t the right fit, compare credit cards to find the right one for you. Here are two of our recommendations:

The Capital One Spark Cash Plus has a $150 annual fee and earns 2% cash back on every purchase, every day; plus 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. There’s no limit to how much cash back you can earn at these elevated rates, which could mean more earning potential than the Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards.

Learn more in our Capital One Spark Cash Plus review.

The Ink Business Cash^® Credit Card has a $0 annual fee and offers 5% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each account anniversary year; 2% cash back on the first $25,000 spent in combined purchases at gas stations and restaurants each account anniversary year; and 1% cash back on all other purchases.

You could earn more rewards with the Ink Business Cash compared with the Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards if your business expenses align with its bonus categories.

Check out our Chase Ink Business Cash Credit Card review.

Bottom line

We like that the Bank of America^® Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards Mastercard^® credit card gives you the option to choose in which categories you earn the most cash back. But if you don’t want to have to remember to change your categories each quarter or deal with spending caps, then another Business Advantage card (or other business credit card altogether) might be a better option.

Check out our other business credit cards to learn more.